I recently completed a specialty vise assembly using Benchcrafted’s Moxon vise kit. Here is a picture of the finished project along with a link to a nice write-up by Jameel Abraham on the Benchcrafted Blog.

Coming out of the Woodworking in America conference, I was determined to improve my current bench’s work holding capacity. The Moxon vise, re-introduced by Benchcrafted, is a truly outstanding, yet simple piece of engineering. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to make an easy upgrade.

These can be configured in a bunch of different ways. Points of attachment, overall dimensions and additional work surfaces, to name a … Read More »

WIA 2011 was a great event this year. Thanks again for all of the support and opportunity from my friends at Gorilla Glue! The trade in for tough program really went over well this year with at least 250 bottles of old or competitive product for a new bottle of the Gorilla Glue PVA Wood Glue.

This year’s focus was on promoting a cabinet joinery challenge. The goal was to get people to follow some basic dimensions and challenge oneself on a variety of different types of joinery. I featured my curly cherry medicine cabinet, and a set of two office … Read More »

My wife and I recently decided to replace our c. 1983 style, home developer special, P.O.S. fireplace/mantle/hearth. I worked with a designer here in Cincinnati, Space Expressions, Inc. to come up with a design that complimented the overall style of our home’s interior design and furnitue.

Design Details

We had a new wood-burning fireplace insert put in by contractors.

The 16” square walnut panels are made from 1/16” bookmatched veneer on 1.25” thick MDF. The grain direction alternates vertical/horizontal to mimic logs and flames of a fireplace. They are mounted with plenty of industrial adhesive to keep them in place.

This is a medicine cabinet that I have built for the Woodworking in America show here in Cincinnati. It was a gift for my wife’s 40th birthday. This piece was a nice challenge for me including some pretty thin half-blind dovetails on the drawers, carcass construction and some tricky door hinges.

Clearly influenced by Shaker design, I opted to build this around the grain patterns on the amazing curly cherry. The tops of the drawers and the door panels follow a flowing horizontal layout, including some sapwood at the tops of the drawers and the inside bottom of the case. The flow … Read More »

DESIGN INSPIRATION
I drew inspiration on my latest project from my recent experience visiting South Africa to build something for my in-laws (originally from Cape Town, SA). I wanted to design a table and set of benches that reflected the cultural experience of the visit, as well as their own personal style and needs for utility and durability.

To start, I put Google to the test for some images showing unique slab-style pieces built by other people. I came across a few that were interesting enough to pull together as a potential solution for the commission. The two examples are below:

Allright, its official: My 8 year old daughter now has better bedroom furniture than her parents. This nightstand measures 26” tall x 22” wide x 18” deep. This is an upgrade for my daughter’s previous nightstand, which was a simple shaker round stand. This is the third and final piece for her room which includes her bed and abookcase.

I made the base and drawer case from some left-over ribbon sapele and purple heart from my previous table projects. The legs are a curved taper on two of the outer edges starting at 1 5/8” and widening to 2” at the bottom. The … Read More »

What does a woodworker do while on vacation in South Africa?
I recently returned from a trip to South Africa with my wife and in-laws, which included stays in Cape Town, Plettenburg Bay, and Knysna. As a lumber jock, I was excited to learn that there was a rather large, sustainable lumber industry in the town of Knysna. Knysna (located here), is situated along the coast of the southern tip of Africa, about 450 km from Cape Town.

The drive takes you along the N2 highway through scrub desert, wine country and along a 3000+ ft mountain range that is considered some of … Read More »